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Health Department opens H1N1 flu shots to all

The Minnesota Department of Health confirms that starting Wednesday any Minnesotan can get an H1N1 vaccination.

The decision comes nearly two and a half months after the national vaccine campaign officially began in early October. It also follows similar announcements by neighboring states including Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota.

Some Minnesota providers have been complaining for weeks that demand for the vaccine among their high-risk groups is waning. But that's not the case everywhere. There are many other clinics that serve high-risk adults that have not received any doses yet.

The Health Department says it will be up to individual clinics to decide if they have enough vaccine to expand their vaccination efforts. Several county and city-based public health agencies say they will offer mass public vaccination clinics in the coming days.

The vaccine had been limited to certain groups, including young
children, pregnant women and health care workers.

The Health Department reports that 1.4 million doses of the
vaccine have been allocated to Minnesota, and more are on the way.